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His roguish smile, as though he knew her inner thoughts, made heat pool in her belly and she somehow managed to cross her bedchamber without her knees bucklingbeneathher.
He lifted his hand out to her and she accepted it without hesitation. Heavens! His touch nearly singed her as heat radiated throughherbody.
“Ah, Caroline.” His voice rumbled over her as he drew her against him and lowered hismouthto…
Ouch!
Something pointy jabbed Caroline in the stomach and her eyes flew open to find Emma peering down into her face, looking rather wild. What in theworld?
“Wake up, Mama!” her youngest child begged, her pointy knee jabbing Caroline again as she scrambled off the bed. “I can’t find Lord Fluffingtonanywhere.”
Blast it! Caroline scrubbed a hand down her face. Had she been dreaming?AboutMarc? That was hardly helpful for her sanity. Her heart still pounded, so Caroline took a steadying breath, hoping to wipe the dream from her thoughts. Though, after the other day,hewas never far from her thoughts. Theblastedman.
“Mama!” Emma tugged her hand as though to pull her outofbed.
What had Emma said? Hercatwas missing? “You can’t findFluff?”
Emma shook her head, her dark curls bouncing dramatically. “I can’t find him anywhere. And Nelly hasn’t seen him. I’ve called and called.Andthen…”
Her lip trembled as though she was about to burst intotears.
“And then?” Caroline prodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, reaching out to herdaughter.
“A-and then I saw the window in Papa’s study was open and—“ She swiped at a tear “—Well, he could be anywhere! We have to findhim,Mama!”
They did have to find the white ball of fluff. Emma adored that cat. Caroline didn’t even want to think what losing him would do to her daughter, not after everything else she’d already lost. “I can’t go traipsing down Curzon Street like this.” She squeezed Emma’s hand. “We’ll leave as soon as I’m dressed, all right,sweetheart?”
Emma nodded. “I’ll go get Rachel,” she said and then rushed from Caroline’s chambers as fast as her slippered feet wouldcarryher.
Caroline sighed as she rang for her maid. When had her life spun so completely out of control? Of course, she knew the answer to that question. Nothing had been right since David had been killed. He’d been so steady and even, always calm no matter what. They’d been together so long, Caroline hadn’t even realized that he’d been the reason everything in their lives ran so smoothly. But nothing ran smoothly anymore. Missing cats, borrowed butlers, open study windows. And whywasthe window in the study even open to begin with? Blast it all, she was doing an awful job keeping everything together. If David was watching from above, he had to be shaking his head indisapproval.
But if hewasstill here, still alive, he’d find Lord Fluffington, and make it seem effortless. So that was what she hadtodo.
After her maid arrived, Caroline quickly dressed, and then she made her way down the steps, finding both Emma and Rachel waiting for her by the front door with Simmons looking on,stoically.
“Hurry, Mama!” Emmabegged.
“Yes, yes,” Caroline agreed. She glanced in Simmons’ direction, still not terribly happy the man was in her household. Random windows had never been left open under Tindle’s watch or Merton’s before him, for that matter. “Please make certainallwindows are closed from hereonout.”
The butler nodded once. “You can depend upon me, LadyStaveley.”
That remained to be seen, but she smiled in response. “Thankyou.”
He opened the door and held it wide. “Also, ma’am, Thompson and Hart have already gone out searching for LordFluffington.”
Then hopefully her footmen would be victorious if Caroline and the girls came up short handed. “Which way did they go?” sheasked.
“They headed east,milady.”
Then Caroline and the girls would head toward the park. “Thank you,Simmons.”
Emma grabbed Caroline’s hand and began to tug her out the door with Rachel following right behind them. “Cook gave me a bit of duck since Fluff loves it so much. She said maybe he would smell it and comerunning.”
“That was a good idea,” Caroline said as they started down CurzonStreet.
“Lo-or-rd Fluff-ing-ton!” Emma called and shook a littlecanvasbag.
“Here, Fluff!” Rachel chimed in. “Where areyou,boy?”
